Notorious car thieves busted

JAKARTA (JP): City Police detectives have arrested two groups of car thieves earlier this month at separate locations, including the notorious gang known for always killing their victims after robbing them, spokesman Supt. M. Nur H. Usman said on Wednesday.

Nur said the vicious group, which consisted of three men aged between 22 and 27 years old, operated by drowning their victims after pretending to rent their cars.

"These people admitted to having committed the crimes twice. They also admitted to having killed the driver of a car they rented in Semarang on Sept. 12," Nur said at a media conference at the Jakarta Police Headquarters.

He said the group, which was led by its youngest member Hendrawan, forced the driver to stop as he was driving to Pati in Central Java.

"They then strangled the driver, handcuffed him, beat him up, and drowned him in a nearby river.

"The body was found floating in the river on Sept. 14," Nur said.

The spokesman said another victim, 29-year-old Mirza, a resident of the Kampung Rambutan area of East Jakarta, managed to escape after the handcuffs, which were placed over his hands, mysteriously opened.

Mirza, who attended the media conference, said his car was rented by the group on Aug. 7. The group asked him to take them to the MCM karaoke bar in West Jakarta.

"They then asked me to take them to Teluk Gong (in North Jakarta) at about midnight, but in the middle of the trip they told me to stop and suddenly beat me up. They handcuffed me and strangled me until I fell unconscious," Mirza told reporters.

"The next thing I knew I was drowning in the river, but the handcuffs mysteriously came loose, enabling me to swim to the surface," Mirza said.

"I succeeded to climb up to the nearest freeway and tried to stop some cars to get help, but nobody seemed to care. So, I tried to walk to the nearest entrance gate of the freeway and the people there then took me to the Atmajaya Hospital (in North Jakarta)," he added.

Gang leader Hendrawan said that he bought the handcuffs at the Senen market in Central Jakarta for Rp 40,000 a pair.

Nur said that Hendrawan and the other two gang members, namely Amir, 25, and Triyono, 27, were arrested at two separate locations in North Jakarta on Sept. 13 and Sept. 14.

Police also confiscated two Kijang vans from the group, Nur added.

"They tried to sell one of the Kijang vans to our (undercover) officers," Nur said, adding that the group had tried to sell the 1997 car for Rp 15 million.

Police also arrested Supardi, 34, a member of an auto theft group which usually operates by stealing cars that have been left momentarily with the engine running.

"Many people turn on their cars in the morning to heat up the engine and go back into the house," Nur said. "That's when the group springs into action."

The car thief was arrested on Sept. 6 in the Pejompongan area of Central Jakarta, while the other group members were still at large, Nur added. (jaw)